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Ars Arcanum: The Book of Magic
This article is about an advanced system, and does not need to be read before participating in Model Hogwarts. Most magic in the wizarding world is available for anyone to learn, provided that they have the magical strength and experience. However, there are certain abilities that are far rarer, passed down through bloodlines or discovered through hard work and magical study. The Ars Arcanum is a list of all such magical abilities, as well as information on how they function and how they might be acquired. Natural Ability Information Natural abilities are abilities passed on in bloodlines, or otherwise gained through circumstances outside of a character’s control. If you are interested in purchasing something with a Token, please refer to the section above. You can apply for a natural power a maximum of THREE times, no matter what ability you apply for, and with a minimum of three weeks between each attempt. A user may only have one natural power across all their characters and the same rules apply as for new joiners: your character must exist for two weeks prior to applying, with the exception of Metamorphmagi, Half-Giant and Half-Goblin. If you have previously applied under the old system and been rejected, you may now reapply! If you wish to apply for a natural ability, please consider how the ability will affect your character’s personality and potential development. Showing that you understand the power as it is outlined in this page, regarding its drawbacks, the powers and benefits it offers, and the pacing and limitations at each stage in the power's progression is important for a successful application. If your application is rejected, understand that it does not mean we think the narrative you had in mind is bad or not good enough, but rather it is usually a side effect of trying to keep the powers somewhat rare. We won't be able to accept every application due to the nature of the abilities. The good news is that using The Tokens System, you will be able to apply for other powers far more easily, and you will be able to RP many of the purchased abilities as though it were an ability that manifested in your character naturally. Natural Abilities List Below is a list of all current natural abilities. Because we are adjusting for the new Token System, some of these abilities, including their names and how they work, will be receiving updates and balance changes in the near future. Beast Empathy (Journeyman Token) A rare magical ability that allows the holder to befriend and interact with animals by knowing instinctively what the animal is trying to communicate through its actions and feelings, this connection works both ways with them understanding your intent and feelings. Power (Initial): Non-magical creatures have a natural affinity to your presence, seeking you out when you are in locations that they may be found and will not harm you. minor magical creatures (XX or lower) will also naturally see you in a positive light without prior interaction, however could still pose a threat if they are so inclined. Power (Fourth Year): You may now request minor favours from non-magical creatures that would be outside of their usual behaviour E.G a bear carrying you safely across a river. Minor magical creatures will now no longer pose a threat to you unless in a situation that forces requires it E.G Adventures or plots and moderately powerful magical creatures (XXX) will naturally see you in a positive light without prior interaction, however could still pose a threat if they are so inclined. Power (Seventh Year): You may now request almost any favour from a non-magical creature and it would be happy to help you, though they may be reluctant to help if it goes against their base nature they may be convinced, E.G Leopards protecting a mouse from another large predator. At this stage all but the most dangerous of magical creatures would be willing to interact without prior interaction and respond to requests for aid, while magical creatures may not always accept your requests they will always consider it E.G Newt requesting the aid of a swooping evil. Drawbacks: The empathy you establish with creatures is two-way. It is difficult to consciously harm an animal for you, and you may find yourself picking up habits and mannerisms from the animals you interact with, the more you interact with an animal the larger number of behaviours you emulate. Half-Breed: Giant/Troll (Journeyman Token) Those descended from giants or trolls often stand out from the crowd in more ways than one. Their unnatural stature and strength is noteworthy, although some might consider it poor compensation for the isolation and stigma often suffered by these rare individuals. This Half-Breed also receives a +2 to their vitality stat. Power (Initial): You have advantage on physical attacks, and checks requiring physical strength are less difficult when attempted by you. Power (Fourth Year): You are now large enough that giant communities might be willing to acknowledge you, although you will still be treated with scorn unless you are truly able to prove yourself. Power (Seventh Year): Your strength further increases. With permission from a teacher before the event, you may occasionally attempt feats of superhuman strength. Drawbacks: Half-giants are treated with great scorn and prejudice by wizards and giants alike, and are naturally less dextrous than humans. Tasks requiring fine motor control are always more difficult for them, sometimes impossible. Half-trolls are also invariably very ugly. Half-Breed: Goblinoid (Apprentice Token) Humans descended from goblins or pukwudgies can have obvious physical distinctions from ordinary men and women, being considerably more diminutive and sometimes displaying characteristics such as pointed or slightly exaggerated facial features. They are neither more or less inherently capable than other wizards. This Half-Breed also receives a +1 to their finesse and +1 to their wisdom stats. Power (Initial): You’re shorter than ordinary and may look goblinlike. Some goblins may look more favourably upon you, but others will consider you an abomination. Power (Fourth Year): No obvious changes. Power (Seventh Year): If you are clever and magically talented, Goblins will be more likely to respect you in dealings than other wizards, although unless you are willing to abandon wizarding society and join them you will never truly be considered one of them. Drawbacks: Many humans discriminate against half-breeds, and half-goblins are no exception to this rule. Half-Breed: Vampire (Journeyman Token) Vampire-born magicians are rare, but not unheard of in the wizarding world. Although they possess some of the weaknesses of their progenitors to a lesser degree, so too do they enjoy some of their strengths. Power (Initial): You’re naturally healthy - you seldom get sick, and find it easy to stay in good physical condition. You may make physical attacks with advantage. Power (Fourth Year): Your strength and speed are exceptional for a human. You’re fast, strong and fearsome in a physical fight. At night, you will gain access to Physical Empowerment Magic at no extra cost. Power (Seventh Year): Your physical abilities are very slightly superhuman. Only well-trained fighters and well-armed combatants will be able to pose a threat to you without a wand, and even they should approach you with great caution. Your lifespan somewhat exceeds that of a human, even a wizard - the average life expectancy for a half-vampire is approximately 200 years. Drawbacks: When in spring or summer sunlight, you cast and learn all spells with the burdened condition and lose your physical advantage. This means you must also roll with a B on any Vitality, Finesse or Social rolls, as well as your s!dodge rolls. For twenty-four hours following being directly impaled by silver or a wooden stake or consuming garlic, you suffer the burdened condition on all casting and learning. Crossing running water is difficult, although not impossible for a half-vampire. (This power is currently under construction and subject to change) '' Half-Breed: Veela (Apprentice Token) The beauty of a Veela is partially hereditary, such that even their human descendants possess some degree of their unearthly allure. Half-Veela commonly find their Animagus forms to be avian, although they find learning the rare talent no easier than any other. This Half-Breed also receives a +2 to their social stat. '''Power (Initial): People who are of a similar age to you may find you more attractive than most of your peers. Power (Fourth Year): You move with an unusual grace, and find it easy to avoid embarrassing pratfalls or situations that might dirty you otherwise. Power (Seventh Year): Your beauty is almost supernatural, and although your appearance technically does not change people tend to find their most preferred features reflected in you somehow. Drawbacks: No actual powers. Being incredibly beautiful might draw attention. Half-veela have something of a reputation for temperamentality, which is to some degree true. Lycanthropy: The Werewolf Curse (Journeyman Token) Despite the strengths that Lycanthropy confers, it is infinitely more a curse than a boon. Even so, some of the characteristics conferred upon werewolves can prove of occasional use. Power (Initial): On the night of the full moon, a lycanthrope becomes a terrifying wolf immune to most magics and capable of defeating most young wizards. However, this creature attacks humans indiscriminately, driven to spread its curse. Power (Fourth Year): By fourth year, the lycanthrope is a match for even a fully grown adult when transformed, although it has no control over its power still. Even in human form, a werewolf this old is a little tougher and more pain-tolerant than most wizards their age, even if they often look a little frail. Power (Seventh Year): The wolf reaches its prime as a wizard becomes an adult, now more than a match for even an extremely skilled wizard - although it remains utterly uncontrollable. In human form, the werewolf is tougher than ever. If they indulge in their feral curse, their physical abilities increase further. They might gain near superhuman speed, and their bite spreads disease even when not transformed. Drawbacks: Absolutely no self-control when transformed unless Wolfsbane Potion is taken - even then the wolf is simply docile, not tamed. To gain any tangible physical improvements you must feed on human beings. You are incapable of RPing or using the !learn command on days designated as the full moon, and the day before and after transforming you must !cast and !learn using the ‘burdened’ modifier. '(This power is currently under construction and subject to change) Metamorphmagi (Master Token) An extremely rare genetic trait that manifests at birth, those known as Metamorphmagi are capable of altering their physical appearance as they please, although they cannot use this ability to alter their physiological capabilities. This talent does not require a wand. Power (Initial): Young metamorphmagi are capable of minor cosmetic alterations to their appearance. Changes to their hair, eyes, nails, and perhaps minor alterations to their facial features are all possible for a fledgling metamorph, and often their features transform according to their emotions even without their input. Power (Fourth Year): A more experienced Metamorphmagus can disguise themselves better, able to appear almost unrecognisable from their original self, although they still struggle to impersonate others with any degree of accuracy and their emotions can still have a sway on their appearance. Power (Seventh Year): By this point, a Metamorphmagus with any dedication to their craft can change their features as easily as breathe, able to take on the faces of others and even replicate animal anatomy to some degree, although without gaining any abilities of said animal. Their powers are completely under their control by this point, except during times of intense emotion. Drawbacks: '''Their emotional links to their power means that a Metamorphmagus Occlumens would be unheard of. No Metamorphmagus transformation can persist whilst the Metamorphmagus lacks consciousness, and a cast of Specialis Revelio can be used to force them into their non-magical state unless they beat the spellcast with a Willpower check. ''(The details of revealing Metamorphmagi are currently subject to change with upcoming Transfiguration & Untransfiguration changes)'' Natural Legilimency (Master Token) Unlike its learned counterpart, natural Legilimency is a far more fickle and superficial power, focused on surface thoughts rather than clear images of memories forgotten or many-layered thoughts. However, the nature of the natural power is such that you don’t need to cast the spell to peruse another human being’s thoughts, making natural Legilimency equally powerful and just as alarming, if not more. '''Power (Initial): Very occasionally, surface thoughts in the form of feelings or a vague memory will enter your character’s mind, especially when the feeling or memory in question is emotionally volatile or being repressed, but they will be indistinguishable from your character’s own thoughts. The surface thought does not appear as fully-fledged sentence, but rather as a state of mind, making a character faced with an angry counterpart angry, or a character faced with someone remembering something sad be infused with a feeling of nostalgic melancholy. These surface thoughts can also appear as a feeling of déjà vu; a feeling suddenly entering their minds without a clear memory attached to it. During this stage, your character will also be more easily influenced because of the nature of their power being so that they adopt the thoughts and feelings as their own. Power (Fourth Year): You character has developed an understanding that the surface thoughts entering their minds are not their own, whether from a slow development or a sudden realisation. Fully-fledged sentences still don’t appear, as this is not the nature of the mind, but the emotions and images that appear to your character can now be much more clearly defined and give a much more nuanced sense of context, allowing the thought to have a complex enough structure that it is understood almost verbally. This also means that your character is more often able to distinguish others’ thoughts from their own, although the power is still not entirely stable. This means your character still has no conscious control over when they pick up thoughts and that the thoughts will still affect their subconscious, much like debating with a friend and being convinced by something they say. Power (Seventh Year): Your character is now able to freely use their power and be able to separate others’ thoughts entirely from their own, although they are still limited to the current thoughts of whatever target they choose. Drawbacks: * Throughout the first three years of the development of the power, your character can be completely rewritten, due to the nature of adopting foreign thoughts. These thoughts won’t be perceived as ‘other’, even after the power develops more, and will always be considered as part of your character * Can only perceive surface thoughts. * Reading another character’s mind requires OOC consent every time, without exception. Natural Legilimency FAQ Can thoughts in other languages be perceived? Yes, but the ordinary drawbacks and nature of the thought is the same. Your character does not understand another language but rather translates it to their own, due to the nature of the thought being emotion/image rather than fully-fledged sentence. Do Metamorphmagi influence Legilimens more than others? Due to the nature of Metamorphmagi being such that their feelings are much harder to repress, yes and no. Though Metamorphmagi’s feelings are much more visible and might be more influential to someone who’s prone to wanting others to feel good in the first place, their feelings are less repressed and as such enter Legilimens’ minds much less subtly and powerfully through their power. As such, this is up for you to decide. Can Legilimens pick up on more than one person’s thoughts? By year seven of their development, Legilimens can graze the thoughts of people in their immediate vicinity, using it to map out the location instinctually. If there are too many people, however, this surface map becomes distorted with details, no matter how small the room. Are Legilimens able to perceive the thoughts of animals? Assuming that animals’ minds work differently than humans’, the answer is no. The tools present to understand and map a human’s mind does not apply to animals; if your character wishes to understand animals, the power you’re looking for is Beast Empathy. Natural Occlumency (Apprentice Token) Just as some rare mages bear a natural talent for Legilimency, others possess a talent for manipulating their own consciousness rather than observing those of others. Though Natural Occlumency offers no tangible protection from a legilimens, who would still be able to peruse their mind freely, it does allow one with the ability to be able to edit and manipulate their own memories, falsifying events, or erasing them entirely. The ability is absolute, and erased memories cannot be recovered in any way without precautions made ahead of time in the form of a written record of what the prior memory was. New or altered memories are also absolute, and the natural occlumens will have no recollection of the un-edited memories unless a written record was made. Power (Initial): You have unusually impressive powers of recollection and possess the self-control to keep your thoughts clear and calm in all but the most harrowing of crises. Like accidental magic which manifests during stressful or emotional moments, at this stage it is possible for a young magic user to inadvertently end up erasing some of their own memories, often ones that are traumatic or extreme, and they will no longer be able to recall those events. Power (Fourth year): Your self-control develops to unnatural lengths - you have an instinctive awareness of if your memories have been tampered with by outside sources, but you will not have any ability to fix that tampering. At this point, you will begin understanding that they are capable of manipulating your own memories, but it will take time before you can edit them freely. Power (Seventh Year): You are resistant to memory modification charms, to the point of being able to repair memories altered or damaged by outside sources; how this resistance works is currently up to change on a scene by scene basis, with Willpower rolls being a potential way to show it. At this point you will be able to alter your memories freely, and it will come easily in times of great need, but requires time to focus when you are not in a position of possible danger. Unless a Natural Occlumens takes the time to learn traditional Occlumency, their minds will still be freely perused by a Legilimens. Drawbacks: Because memories are irrevocably tied to emotions and emotional development, the editing of memories will almost always lead to side effects in the Natural Occlumens emotional range and development, frequently in the vein of stunting emotional growth, or crippling the ability to experience certain emotions entirely. This heavily depends on the nature of the edits made by the Natural Occlumens, and can manifest in a variety of ways. When “recovering” old memories by use of a written record, the memories will be no deeper than that of recalling something you once read, and works similar to placing a post it note over a hole in an attempt to repair it. Finally, while a Natural Occlumens can freely edit their own memories, they cannot edit the memories of others. Even if their knowledge of an event has been erased or changed, those around them will still recall the original happenings, which can lead to consequences in social situations. (The name for this ability is subject to change) Parseltongue (Master Token) One of the rarest of all natural magical abilities, at least in wizarding Britain, Parselmouths enjoy the ability to speak the language or serpents. Those more practised in the tongue might even find themselves capable of exercising a measure of control over these serpents. Power (Initial): You are capable of understanding and communicating with serpents. They are predisposed to think well of you, but are not compelled to obey you and may prove dangerous if mistreated. Power (Fourth Year): Your control over the serpent’s tongue now allows you to control non-magical serpents as well as understand them. They will do your bidding provided that it does not directly endanger their own lives. Power (Seventh Year): Your command over serpents is now absolute, and you might even be able to exercise your will over magical serpents such as Runespoors and the dreaded Basilisk. Drawbacks: Parselmouth is an exceptionally stigmatised ability, only moreso since the defeat of the Dark Lord. The social pressure you suffer if discovered to have the ability will extend beyond ostracisation and likely bar you from most influential forms of employment. The ability to speak parseltongue is something that runs in bloodlines, and thus any character who possesses the ability may find themselves harrowed by old stigmas, dangers and enemies who gravitate towards such ancient powers. Sight: The Inner Eye (Journeyman Token) Whilst Divination is a school of magic practised by many, it is those who possess the Inner Eye who are most capable of unravelling the mysteries of the future. The gift manifests itself in many different ways, but never reliably - the art of analysing prophecy is notoriously inexact and oftentimes even self-defeating. It is said that the visions of even the most talented Seers are as likely to mislead as to inform. Power (Initial): You occasionally experience portents of the future. These portents are infrequent, occasionally false, and always difficult to interpret, but may provide information that could never otherwise have been attained. Power (Fourth Year): Your ability to perceive the future is refined. Your portents are almost never false, and may be more detailed. However, they remain exceptionally vague, rather infrequent, and difficult to exploit. Power (Seventh Year): Your Inner Eye has truly opened. Your portents are never false even if recognising what is a portent and what is not may occasionally lead you astray, and you may once or twice in your life produce a true Prophecy, dictating the terms of the future with a clarity and significance that even your usual portents cannot match. Drawbacks: Your portents may lead you down dangerous paths, sometimes misleadingly and without hope of reward. The mind arts are anathema to seers - practising Occlumency can forever close the Inner Eye, and Seer attempts to practise Legilimency becomes erratic and dangerous for both parties. FAQ Why do nat powers now have token costs? To bring nat powers more in line with everything else with the new tokens system, nat powers now have a tokens cost. This is in large part due to the increased narrative potential of tokens over the prior system, which further inflates natural powers potency as ‘free’. The token is decided by the scope and impact of each individual power. And for nats, you ‘pre spend’ your token for your nat power. Why does the power I want say its being reworked? Some of the current descriptions don't really match what the power actually is. So we’re working hard to get them updated as soon as possible! But we didn't want to stop people applying for powers they wanted while that happened, so left the old descriptions up, with a little note that they may change. Are quotas gone now? Yes! The old quotas are gone! However this doesn't mean that Model Hogwarts is suddenly going to be filled with 50 metas and 30 legi and 25 werewolves! Although there's no longer strict quotas, we are making apps more open for people so that it isn't as strict. If we feel like a power wouldn't fit a character, or there are other problems, then apps will still be denied. Nat powers still aren't a free-for-all. I was denied twice under the old system, can i app again? Yes! Reapps are now open! Anyone who has previously been denied can now try again. Everyone can now app 3 times under the new system. How do I know if I'm eligible for an application? How long can I apply for things? Before you can apply for a Natural Power you must have been an active player for at least two weeks, with the exceptions of Metamorphmagus which must be applied for before roleplaying as well as Half-Giant and Half-Goblin, which due to their overt nature can be applied for either to start with or slightly later. Due to the desire to roleplay out the full arc of each power from start to finish with proper consequences and downsides, Metamorphmagus cannot be applied for beyond initial joining due to the overt nature of the power and how big of a change it would make to a character to add that in later. The limitations on learned powers and general non-nat applications are much less strict. You may begin to apply for such things when you have the appropriate tokenpoints and, in the case of learned powers, when you have reached the required year stated in the Ars Arcarnum. What about applying for a power in much later years? Certain powers - the ones that can be kept secret and hidden, or develop later IC - can be applied for in later years. However, in all these cases the ability will begin at year 1 and progress from there. This includes: * Beast Empathy * Lycanthropy * Legilimency * Occlumency * Parseltongue, assuming a Snake has not been met. * Seer What are you looking for in an app? At its core, we’re looking for two things in a nat power app: * We want to see that you’re passionate about the specific power you’re applying for and will use it in a way that the power feels like a part of the character and isn’t wasted. * We want to know that you understand the limitations of the power, as outlined in the Ars Arcanum. Does my app need to be long? The length of the application matters little on how well it will do, but for some of the powers, to properly touch on the consequences and impacts it can have, it may require the app to be longer. Length for length's sake will not help an application much, but length out of necessity to explain the different impacts you could foresee or expect will. Length should not be a focus, but rather a side effect. What if I'm not a good writer? The app does not need to be well written to get the point across. We are more concerned with your understanding of the power and the impact it can have on the Model than how beautifully you can tie it together. We will never, ever judge on quality of the writing alone. Even beautifully written apps can and have been declined because they lacked understanding of the power, were unable to fully cover the impact of the powers on the different facets of the model or were unable to set up an adequate justification for the power. What if you guys don't like my idea, but a lot of other people do? Each application has to be judged not just by how compelling it is as a story, or how much other currently active players or friends might enjoy it, but also by what impact that application's success might have on the model's future stories and player base, as well as the perception of those in the model who might be less inclined to approve of an idea but feel uncomfortable saying it for whatever reason. Part of the job of the apps team is to try to look at each application as objectively and with as broad a view as possible. Ultimately, we accept that the applications process is inherently subjective to some degree, regardless of the lengths that we go to to define an app's quality by objective criteria rather than our own personal biases or desires. However we go to great lengths to try and mitigate bias as we can; if we feel the current makeup of the app team is too biased for or against a specific power, we will bring in people from the outside with as neutral a viewpoint as possible and ask for their input, or we will take a break from a particularly troublesome app so we have more time to consider it. We regularly have members of the app team sit out if they feel they have too much inherit bias for or against a specific app, along with members who will actively play devil's advocate in or out of an app's favour. The idea of bias is something we take into consideration frequently, and are looking for new ways to circumvent all the time. Who else has gotten powers? Sharing knowledge on a character’s successful applications, purchases and indeed powers is entirely up to the discretion of the applicants themselves. The mods won’t share knowledge on who has what power, which is also why the Wiki lacks such information. If you know someone has a power, or indeed anything that has been purchased through tokens, please ask them for consent before sharing the knowledge with anyone else. The reason for all of this, is that many players find it more fun to surprise people by slowly developing their power, leaving tiny hints behind, before they finally reveal it all IC. Others might not want the attention before their power comes into play. What about professors with natural powers? Professors, whilst they typically must apply for natural powers unless that power is essential to their station (essentially, a Divination Professor must be a Seer) do not contribute to natural power quotas, and their possession of abilities thus has no impact on the abilities of the student body, for better or for worse.Category:OOC Articles Category:Handbook Article Category:Abilities Category:Character Creation Category:Natural Abilities Category:Tokens